With 'Pressure Off' Osaka 'Can Play Her Best Tennis' Again Says Henman
WTA
We're about ten days away from seeing Naomi Osaka on the courts again, and it could be a really good return for her, according to former player Tim Henman.
The last time we saw Osaka play was a very long time ago, during a period when she really didn't want to be on a tennis court. She was dealing with some mental issues and simply couldn't focus on the sport enough.
A pregnancy happened in the middle of all of that, and there was no way for her to play. Fast forward to now, Osaka looks very motivated to come back to her best self, which is likely to happen because she is realistically one of the best tennis players in the world at her peak.
It will take a while, but the lack of pressure could greatly benefit her, according to Henman. Nobody is really looking at Osaka with pressure to win any big titles early on simply because it's been a long time since she really did anything of note.
We have new stars now, like Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, who carry the brunt of the pressure. That can only benefit Osaka.
I think it's massively exciting to have Osaka coming back because she just played such incredible tennis in the Slams. But she obviously had her struggles mentally, and to have been away from the court and now to be the mother of a child, I think inevitably that's going to give you a different perspective.
That's only half the equation, though, as she will have to go out onto the court and actually win matches. That's going to be tricky, but Australia has been a strong place for her historically, so it seems like the best possible place to come back to the sport.
As Henman put it in an exclusive interview with Eurosport, she would be a great addition to the tennis world if she finds her best tennis.
When the pressure is slightly off from within, then I think when you get that type of freedom, you can play some of your best tennis. If she can be on the court playing with a smile on her face and showing her abilities, her ball striking, and the tennis that we've seen in the past, then she's a huge addition to world tennis.
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